The Member of Parliament for the Madina constituency Francis-Xavier Sosu, has applauded parliament for repealing the death penalty from the laws of Ghana.
According to him, the Members of Parliament have made the nation proud by removing a ‘ death penalty’ that has been in the statute books for over five decades.
Describing the death penalty as ‘too final’, Mr. Sosu remarked that the arguments backing the removal are research-based and sound.
“I think that there have been very sound arguments in support of abolishing the death penalty, and the arguments are researched-based. The death penalty is too final. Parliament today did the needful and made Ghana proud in the Comity of Nations by abolishing the death penalty. I think this is a good thing for Ghana,” he stated.
The Madina MP, who also doubles as a human rights lawyer was the one who pushed for the passage of the Act.
Parliament, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, passed the bill which is awaiting presidential assent.
Background
For years, some civil society organisations have called for the abolition of the death penalty. In Ghana, capital punishment is a mandatory sentence for certain offences including murder, treason and genocide.
However, Ghana last executed convicts on death row in 1993, the year of Ghana’s return to civilian rule.
Twelve people convicted of armed robbery or murder were executed by firing squad.
According to a report by Amnesty International, as of the end of 2020, 160 people – 155 men and five women – were under sentence of death.
These included six foreign nationals, one from Benin, two from Burkina Faso and three from Nigeria.